Ah, May…caught somewhere between Easter and the peak tourist season. Warmer and drier than April, but not as hot as the summer.
In other words, a decent time to visit Vienna. Particularly if you enjoy your music, food and drink, for May is a month full of classical and culinary festivals.
- Book a classical concert experience* for your trip
- See also:
Top activities in May 2025
So, aside from the usual museums, tours, concerts and other sights, what does the month offer the discerning visitor to Vienna?
Exhibitions in May
(Enjoy the art at the Albertina Modern and Künstlerhaus)
May 2025 is still a way off, so I don’t have full details yet. But provisional treats include:
- One of the year’s highlights appears at Lower Belvedere: exploring Gustav Klimt’s techniques, methods and materials in the Pigment & Pixel exhibition. May is also your last chance there to see the best of Slovenian art between 1848 and 1919 (until May 25th)
- Upper Belvedere continues the Klimt theme from May 15th with a deep dive into his unfinished work, The Bride
- And another top event: the Bank Austria Kunstforum Wien presents the photos and other creations of Anton Corbijn
- The Kunsthistorisches Museum blesses us with Arcimboldo, Bruegel, and Bassano (and others of their time)
- Discover one of Austria’s art movements with the Wien Museum MUSA‘s look at Viennese Realism post 1950
- Strauss year continues at the Theatermuseum with its own exhibition on his life and works
- Find out how international culture shaped Austria’s own character in the years following WWII in the Wien Museum Controlled Freedom exhibition
- Unpack the miniskirt and oversized sunglasses: mumok takes us back to the art of the 60s in the context of seminal art events and publications of the time
- Your final opportunity to see highlights of 21st-century Austrian design at the Aut Now exhibition in the MAK (until May 18th) and the intriguing creations and continuing influence of the Enfant Terrible of the Wiener Werkstätte: Dagobert Peche (until May 11th)
- See the concept of deity explored from various perspectives in an exhibition at the Jewish Museum
- The Weltmuseum ponders the impact of the Qur’an on the evolution of European thinking
- The Technisches Museum celebrates 100 years of radio in Austria with an exhibition on the cultural and technological evolution of the medium
More art(s)…
- For art in its broadest sense, the huge Wiener Festwochen multidisciplinary art festival starts this month (May 16th to June 22nd) with a wide-ranging programme
- The Art Austria art fair enlivens the MuseumsQuartier from May 8th to 11th
- The Affordable Art Fair arrives in Vienna from May 22nd to 25th
#wienliebe
(A neogothic background, white canopies and plenty of Viennese food and drink)
I have to put this one up top. My city!
#wienliebe is a new annual event that began in 2024 (2025 dates TBA), presenting the best of Vienna’s food, drink, music, crafts and more in a three-day festival.
- Some of the famous gastronomic, brewing and vineyard addresses in the city provide the food, beer and wine
- A stage hosts musical and other performances across a range of genres associated with Vienna (from classical onwards)
- A selection of stalls showcase the crafted products of small enterprises and (which might surprise you) even Vienna’s agricultural side
4GAMECHANGERS
(The 4GAMECHANGERS stage; press photo courtesy of and © 4GAMECHANGERS & Pakugraphy)
Another large festival is 4GAMECHANGERS (2025 dates TBA, possibly shifting to a later month) in the Marx Halle, which brings together thousands of people from around the world who are interested in taking us into a better future (and many who are actively doing so).
Each day is a separate track, with talks, panels and other activities around a wide diversity of relevant topics: from entrepreneurship to education, culture to climate change, health to human rights. Languages are English and German (with simultaneous translation of any German talks into English).
The event has plenty of star power (and not just in the surrounding entertainment). Charlize Theron and Amal Clooney have both appeared recently, for example.
Fairs & fandoms
(Visit Edelstoff in the Marx Halle this month)
A few other tips for those with a hankering for creativity you can buy:
- Vienna COMIX (May 31st to June 1st) is a fair and convention covering comics in their widest sense with, for example, cosplay and plenty of Star Wars, too.
- The Edelstoff design market features lots of independent designers (May 3rd and 4th)
- The WAMP open-air design market (2025 dates TBA) sets up outside the MuseumsQuartier
- Fanzineist Vienna: an international fair that presents self-published and independent publications in creative fields like art, design and literature (May 16th to 18th)
- The Animarket is a pop culture market with a strong focus on anime and manga (May 1st)
Bring a glass & plate
(The national drink)
Not all the slopes in Austria are for skiing down. The country has a lot of vineyards (as does Vienna itself; see the #wienliebe event above).
Last time I checked the statistics, Austrians also drink more beer per head than anybody except our thirsty Czech neighbours.
Vienna’s bars and restaurants allow you to taste the local beverages, or you can visit these festivals in May:
- If the idea of wine sounds tempting, then consider the VieVinum, an international wine festival at the Hofburg palace (as a biannual event, the next edition is May 16th to 18th, 2026)
- The Ottakringer TankBiertage features beer and entertainment at Vienna’s main brewery (2025 dates TBA)
- Lifting the alcohol content a little, the Vienna Gin Festival is scheduled for May 9th and 10th in the historical Semperdepot
A fine glass of wine or beer goes better with a fine dish of regional food. And, as luck would have it, Vienna has plenty of wider food festivals in May, too.
(That famous central European dark bread)
- The huge Genuss Festival in the Stadtpark city park (May 9th to 11th) showcases the best of Austria’s agricultural and viticultural regions
- Burgenland is a small province east of Vienna, and the Burgenland Kultinarium festival (May 20th to 23rd) encourages you to learn about the area with the help of large quantities of its wonderful food and drink
- The Weinviertel region also blesses the capital with its food, tourist destinations, products and the wine for which it is most famous…at the Weinviertel-Fest (2025 dates TBA)
- The European Street Food festival (2025 dates TBA) rolls into town with trucks and stalls tempting you with a wide diversity of culinary delights from around the globe
- The Wiener Zitrustage or Vienna Citrus Days (May 23rd to 25th) add a little fizz and colour to the month in the rather apt location of the Schönbrunn Palace orangery
If you want to run off the accumulated calories, the ASICS Austrian Women’s Run takes place in May (on the 25th in 2025).
Another running event held this month is the Wings for Life World Run, with a flagship event in Vienna (May 4th).
Enjoy the music & celebrations
(The Steffl Kirtag at the cathedral)
The 2025 May festivals don’t end there, either.
- The Pride event typically begins this month (2025 dates TBA)
- Numerous Christian institutions open their doors to visitors at the Long Night of the Churches (May 23rd) with an evening of events ranging from organ recitals to rooftop tours
- The Vienna Blues Spring festival stretched across the whole of May in 2024, so may do so again in 2025
- The wean hean festival has a series of performances reflecting the Viennese song tradition (2025 dates TBA)
- Donauinsel Open Air is four successive one-day music festivals (May 16th & 17th and 23rd & 24th) on our long artificial island
- The Gemischter Satz festival at the Konzerthaus venue combines one of Vienna’s notable wine products with classical music and more (2025 dates TBA)
- Think of the annual Steffl Kirtag fair outside the main cathedral as a spring market with the touch of a funfair about it (2025 dates TBA)
- The Fest der Freude (May 8th) celebrates the liberation of Vienna and the end of Nazi rule with a free concert on Heldenplatz square next to the Hofburg palace. The Vienna Symphony orchestra performs, with the event also in remembrance of those who suffered at the hands of that occupation
(Heldenplatz – home to the Fest der Freude open-air concert)
Go for a swim
Vienna’s numerous outdoor public swimming facilities usually open up for the summer from early May. These include:
- Family facilities, with shallow pools and family-friendly prices
- Multipurpose facilities, with both indoor and outdoor pools
- Summer facilities with open-air pools. Look, particularly, for the large recreational areas along the Alte Donau lake, such as the Gänsehäufel
Buy some popcorn
(A regular film festival host)
International film festivals normally fill Viennese screens during May. For example:
- The Ethnocineca international documentary film festival focuses on critical evaluation of social, political and cultural structures (May 8th to 14th)
- The mini version of the Slash Film Festival featuring all things fantastical (2025 dates TBA)
- The prestigious Vienna Shorts festival with its focus on short-form filmmaking (May 27th to June 1st)
Seasonal tip
Enjoy the flowers
(Enjoy the roses)
By early May, the spring and early summer flower displays planted by the city or national parks authorities are normally in full bloom. Try, for example:
- Schönbrunn Palace – the landscaped gardens in front of the palace are gorgeous. But also take the time to drop into the Kronprinzengarten, a privy garden with geometric shapes made of flower beds and different-coloured gravel
- The Rathauspark: the park surrounding the Rathausplatz square in the centre is usually full of tulips
- The gardens between the two Baroque palaces at Belvedere should have a flower or three by now
- The Volksgarten – a public gardens opposite the Rathausplatz and home to hundreds of different rose varieties
- Hirschstetten – a large (and beautiful) landscaped gardens and park area that also serves as a plant nursery facility for the city